T510

I really like the idea of this but at $40K USD that's got to work out at close to $100k landed in Aus for what is essentially a flying dirtbike.

You are wrong there, Aviation insurance Australia offer Third Party Liability Insurance. It has nothing to with the taxpayer. In Victoria the TAC charge component of your registration is the compulsory third party insurance CTP (Compulsory Third Party Insurance) in NSW is your Green slip and provided by insurers such as AAMI, NRMA and QBE. it has nothing to do with taxpayers, it only applies to Vehicle owners. https://www.sira.nsw.gov.au/insurance-coverage/CTP-insurance-Green-Slips/what-is-a-green-slip

Third party insurance is available from most insurers, it has nothing to do with the taxpayer. Third party liability covers aircraft owners for damage that their aircraft does to third party property, such as houses, cars, crops, airport facilities and other aircraft struck in a collision. It does not cover the owner of the insurance policy For instance the TAC provides third party insurance as part of your car rego in Victoria

You still need a pilot in Australia, they just won't be sitting in the plane. The pilot will also need IREX to do BVLOS flights with that sort of aircraft and getting the approvals to fly it will be challenging.

Specs are very impressive, no Australian dealer that I could find though

It's not a Rotax designed exhaust, it is designed to fit the airframe the motor is mounted to. It's not a tuned length header. With all the different airframes Rotax get mounted to I doubt many have the same header lengths as Skippy's application. A quick google will show the same motor with dozens of different configurations including different muffler locations, twin mufflers, single outlets and twin outlets.

His comment was not regarding how much heat it could take, more that there is no need to heat it to work stainless. He only does bikes and he is typically booked 6 months in advance

I would be making a jig to hold the pipe so the ends can not move and then support it either side of where you plan on putting the dent. I'd mark up area before removing it then find a piece of round bar stock or steel pipe about 50mm diameter and place it over the area at a 90 degree angle to the pipe centreline. Then give it a sharp hit with a decent size hammer. Creep up on it, it's always easier to dent it more than try to pull the dent out. See if you can get some similar sized exhaust pipe from your local exhaust shop or scrap metal merchant and do a couple of test hits to get a feel for the best way to do it. I asked a mate who builds custom motorcycle exhausts and he says he always bends or shapes stainless cold. He said you need to be heating it to between 450 - 800c to get it hot enough and then it compromises the corrosion resistant properties of stainless steel

I would try with the dent, If you are worried about it you could compare egt on the RHR and LHR cylinders before and after. This would give you an indication if the dented pipe had a negative effect on that cylinder. You could even check it with an infrared thermometer during a ground run.

This is an automotive application but you will be surprised how much you can flatten an exhaust header pipe without compromising power https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=152724102049876

Hi from West Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. After 24 years in the aviation industry I am finally working towards getting my RPC. Hoping to build myself an aeroplane in the not too distant future and get out flying as often as possible. Cheers Jake